Do I have fake Airpods Pro? (Serial number swapped location)

[canhaz]

Bought a pair of Airpods Pro off Amazon.com last week, and gotta say, I reall love them.

That said, I became a bit worried after watching videos of the new April 2020 clones that are practically almost impossible to tell apart. The fakes have working H1 chip, noise cancellation everything. I've also previously been burned on Amazon before, even buying full price "direct" from the manufacturer. My Bose QC35's ended up being really convincing counterfeits :/

So first thing I did was to go to https://checkcoverage.apple.com/ to check the Serial number. Well that showed 3 green ticks, with an option to buy Apple Care+ (which I did). However is this a foolproof method? In other words are serial numbers impossible to fake?

However the main thrust of this post is this photograph from a review site:

We review Apple AirPods Pro: are they better than the original?

The AirPods Pro offer a much richer, rounder and deeper sonic palate than previous Apple headphones, but does our reviewer think they are better than the original?

www.scmp.com

As you can see the Serial and model numbers are printed on the right side, and the certification logos on the left.

However, on my Airpods Pro, the the serial is on the left side of the case and the logos look a bit different and are now on the right, as you can see below:

AFAICT there are not different Airpod Pro hardware versions (mine still says V1.0.0) in Settings -> About.

Maybe being a bit paranoid but do you think we have anything to worry about. How about your own pair, where is the serial number located on your case?
[automerge]1593270306[/automerge]

 

[Phil77354]

My AirPods Pros have the serial number and other information located the same as yours, identical (second photo) . And I know for a fact that they are not fake because I have had them replaced once by Apple. Hardware version is also 1.0.0.

 

[canhaz]

My AirPods Pros have the serial number and other information located the same as yours, identical (second photo) . And I know for a fact that they are not fake because I have had them replaced once by Apple. Hardware version is also 1.0.0.

Thank you, that's good to know.

 

[Rigaros]

My AirPods Pro are like the one in the first picture. Just found this Site. Its in German but maybe the pictures are helpfull

It seems fake Airpods can‘t handle ANC

 

[canhaz]

My AirPods Pro are like the one in the first picture. Just found this Site. Its in German but maybe the pictures are helpfull

It seems fake Airpods can‘t handle ANC

These new TWS clones do have ANC though. Check it out

And at the same time this new Gen 3 fake ..is really convincing, except like you say it has no ANC.

In this context fake means companies trying to produce an exact copy 1:1, with serial numbers, logo's etc. ie complete counterfeit. Clones on the other hand, rip off the design and look, but don't go all the way and use Apple logo's etc.

So I guess it's a matter of time before the fakers get the new ANC from the clone people TWS, and perhaps they have already produced a gen4 fake by now. :/

 

[canhaz]

Update. OMG These new Hicity v3.5 fakes have working serial numbers! How the ** is this possible?

This is out of control.

It makes no sense why Apple would let this happen. They obviously could control the database of genuine serials.
[automerge]1593300906[/automerge]
Guys please be careful out there. The amount of fakes on Amazon is a growing rapidly and they everywhere. Amazon has finally launched a new anti-counterfeit team this week, to try get it under control.

Amazon launches Counterfeit Crimes Unit to fight knockoffs on its store

Despite the name, it’s not a new CSI show.

www.theverge.com

Personally I'm going to buy from Apple.com from now on. After a few hours research, honestly am not sure if I have the real thing or not. It seems so, but I hate that I can't be 100% sure.

 

[Rigaros]

I feel you. This is ridiculous. Like you, i‘m looking for some hours now to check if mine are real or not and i‘m still not sure.

Manually, i can‘t Type in the purchase date...
I paid 214€/240$ for them an they are better then my first gen AirPods in any way. I just have to be sure they‘re originals

 

[perezr10]

Counterfeits can have ”valid” serial numbers if the counterfeiter just happens to use the same number as one that Apple sold already. That’s why Apple always runs hardware through a diagnostic software before they do anything for you. I suppose the software will look for specific hardware markers to tell them if it’s genuine or not.

I took my son’s AirPods to the Apple store to get battery service done. They wouldn’t do anything for me until they placed the AirPods into a little electronic device and scanned the hardware first.

So no, just because your AirPods serial # looks legit in the warranty website, doesn’t mean that THAT serial number belongs to you.

If it bothers you, make an appointment with the Apple Store when they open up and they can tell you one way or the other if they’re genuine.

 

[Itinj24]

If these kind of things are worrisome to you, then buy from a reputable company. I personally buy all my Apple products from Apple or Best Buy. If the deal seems to good to be true...

 

[canhaz]

Counterfeits can have ”valid” serial numbers if the counterfeiter just happens to use the same number as one that Apple sold already.

Thank you, I was surprised to learn about this. Apple encodes a bunch of static information in the Serial number. Yikes. This may have strong historical precedent, but it's not great for security.

Predictable serial number attack - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Now that means there's only 3 alpha numeric that identify a device. Which is a paltry 39,304 devices for a certain date,location and model number.

The good news it seems Apple is aware of the problems this create, and is set to change it.

Why Apple is going to randomize its device serial numbers (and why you should care) - AppleToolBox

Apple is expected to change to a new type of serial number that could make figuring out date of manufacture harder. Here's what you should know about the change.

appletoolbox.com

The newer randomized serial will supposedly contain 12 characters A1B2C3D4E5F6 without restrictions. Thus we'd have 34^12 = 2,386,420,684,000,000,000 or 2.3 Quintillion possible serials.

So lets say Apple Manufacturers 50 Billion devices (it's less of course but we can afford to round up). That means a shady counterfeiter has a 0.000002095188008% chance of stumbling onto a valid serial by chance.

Much better

 

[canhaz]

So small update here. Because sometimes you just gotta NOT let things go...

Had a friend who runs a lab offer to weigh my Airpods Pro using their fancy weighing equipment.

The test result shows the case and buds together weigh in at 56.3209g

Now according to the MR Airpo Pro overview page, the official weights are "5.4 grams per earbud. The charging case also weighs in at 45.6 grams. Therefore 5.4g*2 + 45.6g = 56.4g. Seems to be pretty dang close to what we measured. Yay.

While this method is not foolproof it seems previous fakes were all off by a least a few grams based on other reviewers anecdotes.

This measurement is showing less than a <1.0 gram difference, which seems to put it in the acceptable variance (the official figures probably are rounded off introducing less accuracy).

Long story short, it seeming more likely (at least to myself) that there a more than one version of the logos and printing and genuine Airpod Pros from Apple.

Different regional SKUs could account for the this. Another reason could be simply Apple silently updated the product in newer batches with minor cosmetic updates that don't require a new Hardware revision number.

 

[MrElvey]

Got a pair of Airpods Pro, and they suck. They worked fine with my phones but not my macs. Apple store confirmed they were fake. When I open them, my phone communicates and shows battery status, etc. Noise cancellation doesn’t work.

Mine have the Serial and model numbers printed on the right side, and the certification logos on the both sides. When I googled just the serial # on the box, this article came up and I can’t tell why.
Serial numbers are all over the place :

Printed on :

Box:GX1D2G9WLKKT A2083/2084/A2190

Case: A2190 (👍Pro wireless chg.)

GWYCPCD9LKKTAX1215

. 519mAh

Left: GWYCPCD9LKKTAX12156Y A2032



Right: GWYCPCD9LKKTAX12158Y A2032

6/8Y: probably both 8s. Unclear print.

iOS says S/N:GX2ZKW1CLKKT

I hadn’t seen a real pair up close before but have now and the differences are very very subtle. Way more subtle than than all the fake EarPods I’ve seen. Got my money back.

Hope this helps someone.

 

[Phil77354]

where did you purchase them?

 

[fischersd]

Do the counterfeit AirPods show up in Find My??? Has anyone verified that?

That they have access to Apple's serial numbers does suggest that the information is leaking from the plant they're being manufactured in, in China. (which shouldn't be surprising to anyone - the counterfeit business has been huge in China for many years). Apple needs to do activation lock for AirPods to combat this. (which will also cut down on theft, obviously).

 

[MrElvey]

Do the counterfeit AirPods show up in Find My???

Checking… Yes, they do. Locates them, but it doesn’t work to make them ring.

I had a long nice discussion with the genius who helped me with them. At the end I asked if she wanted them and I was surprised that she didn’t. In fact, I was surprised they didn’t ask for them. Furthermore, as I recall, legally they’re entitled to them because they’re counterfeit. I’m remembering this from some reading I did a couple years ago. I bought some SONY batteries that turned out to be counterfeit on eBay and eBay staff insisted that I ship the counterfeit product back to the seller even after I was very clear about them being counterfeit. I looked into the legality of doing so and found it was illegal to ship counterfeit products through the mail. So I couldn’t legally do so and another reason I refused was because sending a counterfeit product back to the seller so they can sell it to somebody else is just so wrong.

Apple needs to do activation lock for AirPods to combat this. (which will also cut down on theft, obviously).

Apple would iff it was a B-corp.

The fakes have working H1 chip, noise cancellation everything

My fakes appeared to have noise cancellation in terms of the ability to nominally Switch between the three modes but didn’t actually do anything, sound-wise. likewise with sound isolation. They always passed the test. even if they were in my palm.